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Chicken Marsala

An Italian dish without pasta. I know. Take a moment. Italian cuisine is more than just noodles with red sauce—sometimes it's chicken drowning in a wine and mushroom sauce with an absolutely unhinged amount of butter. This is one of those times. It's rich, it's savory, and it makes you feel like you're eating at a restaurant that has cloth napkins.

Fair warning: this recipe requires you to do two things at once. You're managing a sauce in one pan and cooking chicken in another, and they need to finish around the same time. If you can't multitask, make the sauce first and keep it warm, or accept that one component will be slightly less perfect than the other. This is home cooking, not a Michelin kitchen. Nobody's grading you.

Prep: 15 min Cook: 25 min Serves: 4 Difficulty: Medium (requires multitasking)
Chicken marsala with mushroom sauce served on a plate
That's a cup of butter in that sauce. Your heart knows. Your taste buds don't care.

Ingredients

The Sauce

The Chicken

Instructions

Phase 1: Get Your Shit Together

  1. Clear the kitchen. Anyone who isn't actively helping needs to leave. This recipe requires focus and two pans going at once. You don't need your kids wandering through asking what's for dinner (you're literally making it), your spouse asking where the remote is, or the dog looking at you like you might drop something. Out. Everyone out. You can socialize when the food is plated.
  2. Prep everything first. Slice the mushrooms. Slice the chicken breasts in half lengthwise so you have thin cutlets. Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Measure out your flour, wine, and stock. Have everything within arm's reach. This recipe moves fast once you start, and you don't want to be rummaging through cabinets with butter-covered hands.

Phase 2: The Sauce

  1. Start the mushrooms. Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat. Yes, medium-high—mushrooms are almost impossible to burn, and they need high heat to brown properly instead of just steaming in their own moisture. Add the entire cup of butter. When it's almost fully melted, add the sliced mushrooms. Season generously with salt and pepper. Stir occasionally and let them cook until they're golden and have released their liquid, about 5-7 minutes.
  2. Make the roux. When the mushrooms are ready, add the half cup of flour. Stir vigorously—you're coating the mushrooms and butter with flour to create a roux, which will thicken your sauce. Keep stirring until the flour is fully incorporated and there are no dry patches. This takes about a minute.
  3. Add the Marsala wine. Pour in the cup of Marsala. It will sizzle and smell incredible. Stir to combine and reduce heat to medium. Let it simmer and reduce while you deal with the chicken.

Phase 3: The Chicken (Yes, Now)

  1. Start the chicken. While the wine is reducing, heat a separate skillet over medium heat with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Add the seasoned chicken cutlets. Cook until golden brown on the bottom, about 4-5 minutes, then flip and cook another 4-5 minutes until cooked through (internal temp of 165°F). Thin cutlets cook fast, so keep an eye on them.

Phase 4: Back to the Sauce

  1. Add the beef stock. Once the Marsala has reduced by about half and the alcohol smell has mellowed, pour in the cup of beef stock. Stir to combine. Let the sauce continue to simmer and reduce.
  2. Reduce to desired thickness. Keep the sauce at a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally. The longer you reduce it, the thicker it gets. You want it thick enough to coat a spoon but still pourable—think gravy consistency. This could take another 5-10 minutes depending on how thick you want it. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Phase 5: The Payoff

  1. Serve. Place the chicken on plates. Spoon the mushroom marsala sauce generously over the top. Serve with mashed potatoes (highly recommended), rice, or crusty bread to soak up the sauce. Try not to drink the leftover sauce directly from the pan. I mean, you can. But maybe wait until no one's watching.

Notes

  • On the multitasking: If juggling two pans stresses you out, make the sauce first, set it aside, then cook the chicken. Reheat the sauce gently while the chicken rests. It's not ideal, but it's better than burning something because you're panicking.
  • On the butter: Yes, it's a lot. No, you can't substitute oil. This is a butter sauce. The butter IS the sauce. If you want something lighter, this is not that recipe. This recipe is about richness and indulgence. Embrace it.
  • On the Marsala: Get actual Marsala wine, not "cooking wine" which is full of salt and sadness. It's usually around $8-12 a bottle and you'll have plenty left over for the next time you make this. Which you will. Also, unlike my other recipes, absolutely do not drink this wine straight from the bottle. It's a fortified cooking wine, not a party. Trust me on this one.
  • On the beef stock: Yes, beef stock in a chicken dish. The beef adds a deeper, richer flavor than chicken stock would. It's not traditional, but it works. Stop asking questions.

Stuff You'll Need

Two pans—a saucepan for the sauce and a skillet for the chicken. A wooden spoon. A spatula. The ability to do two things at once, or the willingness to accept imperfection. A meat thermometer if you don't trust yourself with chicken.